Crossroads
by Forbidden Phoenix
Summary: “I know…the road of life is hard. But don’t worry whatever road you take. We’ll go together.” RikuSora.


**Disclaimer**_ Kingdom Hearts is not ours._

**Author Notes/Warning:** _This is a yaoi fic if you are not a fan of this please do us the favor and leave immediately, we will not appreciate rude comments about this. This fiction also contains blood and angst._

**Crossroads**

**Step One: End of Summer**

It was a hot day, an average summer occurrence in Destiny Islands. The mall wasn't too terribly packed, and those brave enough to venture out their doors found themselves enjoying the mall at its finest, sporting a broken air conditioner. Riku would have crossed his arms in annoyance, following behind Sora, but it was just too sticky to even think about. He blew a breath out, his bangs huffing out with it.

"I can't believe we still haven't bought anything for her!" Sora said, looking behind to see his platinum-haired friend. "What do you think we should get her? Clothes? Shoes?"

Riku drew his eyes over to meet the blue ones of his friend. "This is Selphie we're talking about. Let's just get her a gift card and be done with it. That way I don't have to listen to her mouth," he replied, the heat making him over-irritable.

Sora stared at Riku as if he couldn't believe his elder friend, "A gift card? Where's the thought in that? Come on, doesn't her friendship mean anything to you?"

"Means plenty. Enough to let her pick something out I know she'll like, plus it's like ridiculously hot in here." Riku grimaced as he ran a hand over the back of his neck, trying to remove his long hair that was stuck to his skin, "I don't think too well when I'm angry. You know that."

"Yeah I remember that time you got really mad at Wakka for hitting you with a biltzball on the head and for the longest time you kept calling me Lora. But I'm not sure if it was because you were mad or because of the concussion," Sora said looking thoughtful for a moment. He then shook his head and gave his friend a teasing smile, "Besides it's not even that hot! Agrabah is hotter than here. So don't whine."

"I don't whine," Riku grumbled under his breath. "I merely state facts." He looked over at a shop they were nearing, full of pink, and eyed it with disgust. "I'm serious about the gift card. You can't tell me you know the first thing about what to get teenage girls. And I for one, do not."

"Of course I do! How hard could it be?" Sora smiled happily at his own intellect. "Whenever, I shop for Kairi I usually buy her anything I can find that's pink and she loves it. I'm sure Selphie would like something like that too. Oh, look lets go in there! I'm sure we can find her something in there!" He pointed at the store Riku had just eyed.

"Oh, no," Riku said. "Not me, you can go and shop for frills and things. But this is as close as I get to there." He crossed his arms, forgetting momentarily how uncomfortable it would be. He glanced back at the information center they had passed. He gestured with his thumb, "I'm getting the gift card."

Sora gave Riku his infamous pout, "Fine, go and get a gift card for her, and I'll buy her something that actually has some thought and I'll make sure that she'll love it! Your gift card will look really lame compared to my great and spectacular gift!"

"Go ahead," Riku smirked, already starting back toward the information center. "And while you're racking your brain amid all things pink and girly. I'll be home, getting my board and finding me some nice waves to cool off in." He turned his back to Sora, moving one hand up to wave back at him, "Have a wonderful time."

"Riku! Come back here!" Sora yelled stamping his foot and acting just like a child would if their mother refused to buy them any sweets. "You said you were going to help me shop! How is leaving me alone helping me?"

"Hey, I gave you the chance to make it easier on yourself! You wanted to be difficult." Riku called back nearly up to the counter now. When the woman called him up, he threw another grin Sora's way.

Taking out his wallet from his back pocket, he handed the woman a handful of munny. She smiled and after a few moments facing her computer handed him a neatly folded envelope. Riku gave the girl a nod of thanks, and turned back to Sora with the card between his fingers. "Good luck," he smirked, waving the card at him then sauntering off.

"Some friend you are!" Sora called after him. He turned his attention back to the brightly colored store. "I'm going to buy her something so great it's going to make Riku wish he didn't buy that gift card and had stayed with me," he mumbled to himself as he headed into the store to find the perfect gift for the brunette girl.

**

* * *

**

Startling yellow balloons decorated Selphie's home bearing white words of 'happy birthday'. Half of the beach house was blocked from the of onlookers by a large and bright yellow bounce house with a large Paopu fruit at the top. A piñata hung by a woolly rope on Selphie's only tree by her house. Tables and chairs were placed on the front yard for the guests to sit on.

Kairi had arrived at the party once the smoldering sun had started to set with a gift bag in her hand and smile on her face as she saw that everyone had already arrived to the party.

Riku was sitting at one of the tables toward the back, away from most of the noise. It was nice and shady, and a breeze had finally come around. Punch in hand, he leaned back in his chair.

Sora sat next to him throwing an occasional glare his way for reasons unknown to anyone else except for the two of them. Kairi smiled happily at her two best friends as she walked toward them, standing in front of them waiting for them to notice her.

"Hey, Kairi," Riku remarked lazily. He turned his head toward the brunette next to him when the other didn't say anything. He elbowed him in the side.

Sora jumped and threw another glare at Riku, turning to stare at the red-headed girl. He hadn't realized she was standing right in front of him, "Oh, hey, Kairi! What's up?"

Kairi gave Sora an amused smile, "Oh nothing, what about you two? I haven't seen either of you for a couple of days. What's been going on? Any news from our _penpals_?"

"Don't look at me, Sora's the one with the _off-island_ friends," Riku laughed, standing up from his chair, heading to the punch table. He ruffled Sora's hair as he passed. "He's so popular."

Sora scowled at the treatment, "That's not entirely true. You have other friends, besides us, too."

"True, but none of them are so easy to tease," Riku smirked, reaching out to ruffle the other's hair again. "I'm going to get some more punch and see if Wakka and Tidus haven't killed themselves yet. You want something, Kairi?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine," Kairi said as she tried to repress her giggles, watching the two antics and the scowl that grew on the brunet.

Riku nodded, turning away. But he had barely made two steps before a blond came bounding out at him. He hit Riku's chest, and the older boy gave a small grunt.

"Oh--hey! Riku! Was looking for you, man!" Tidus rubbed the back of his head with a slight laugh.

"And where there's Tidus..." Riku sighed softly, where no one but Kairi could hear. And sure enough, Riku had just finished uttering his words when a slightly larger boy came into sight, stopping right by Tidus.

"Hey, me and Tidus...oh, hey, Kairi. Made it, ya?" Wakka smiled.

"Hi Wakka, how have you been? I heard you and Tidus just won a Blitzball game this passed Saturday," Kairi said returning the smile.

"Oh, yeah, man you should'a seen us. Tidus scored the winning point, and I made the other three myself, ya?" Wakka grinned. His cheeks had gotten slightly redder, as they always did when he spoke to one of the girls. Tidus smacked his arm lightly.

"Hey, we've heard the story a thousand times, man." Tidus gestured to Riku, who was standing arms crossed now wearing a slightly annoyed look. "Besides, we came for a reason, remember?"

"Ah…yeah, sorry." He rubbed the back of his head, blush getting a shade deeper. He turned to face Sora and Riku, "Me and Tidus challenge you two to a bounce house brawl, ya?"

Sora quickly stood up and looked at Wakka and Tidus with his usual competitive gleam in eyes and smirked at them, "You're on! We'll beat you two as if there was no tomorrow!"

"Oh, don't start just yet. I'm sure Selphie would want to see this, let me get her!" Kairi said as she hurried into the house to find the birthday girl. She was probably in her room getting all dressed up for her party.

"You both know you have absolutely no chance, right?" Riku moved to stand next to Sora.

"Says you! Wakka and I have been practicing!" Tidus grinned, throwing a thumb at his chest, "Plus, we've been working out since Blitz season started. We'll show you!"

"Uh huh, sure you will. Riku and I have always beaten you two in the past, and that's how it's always going to be, right Riku?" Sora said giving them a cocky grin as he locked his hands behind his head.

"And here I thought you were mad at me." Riku laughed slightly, gaze shifting over to where he saw both girls emerging from the house.

"Oh, I still am, but I'm going to drop it until we beat these two," Sora said turning his head to give him a surprisingly frightful glare.

"Alright, we're back. You four can start now," Kairi said as she and Selphie stood in front of them.

Selphie gave them a bright, almost as bright as the yellow dress she was wearing, smile, "Anyone want to place a bet on who's going to win this battle?"

"You act as if we're some kind of show," Riku shook his head looking back from Sora's face over at the girls. "But if I was betting, it wouldn't be on them." He smirked, pointing over at Wakka and Tidus.

"Keep laughing Riku, we'll show you!" Tidus elbowed Wakka in the side, "Right?"

"Uh, yeah, right. We'll go easy on you, ya?" Wakka laughed, rubbing the underside of his nose.

"You don't have to. Even if you give it your all, I'm sure this battle is going to be over in two minutes, tops," Sora said cockily. He turned to stare at the girls who were both giggling.

"You four are never going to grow up, huh?" Kairi said as she tried and failed to stop herself from laughing.

"They're boys, Kairi. They never grow up. Besides, they are very entertaining to watch anyway," Selphie said happily. "I should hire you four next time I have a party."

"Well, are we just going to stand here and talk about it?" Riku asked, already toeing off his shoes.

"Yeah, lets get this started," Sora said as he sat on the grassy ground and pulling his shoes off.

"Hah, you asked for it," Tidus laughed, running over to the bouncer, kicking off his sandals in the process. He leaped head first through the opening of the flap, sliding in on his stomach.

Wakka was quick to follow, he had already removed his shoes earlier, having been the first one in the bouncer at the beginning of the party. He got in as well, although a fair amount less dramatic that Tidus had.

Sora quickly got up from the ground and hurried into the bouncer, ignoring the fact that today he had decided to wear his old, torn socks that allowed everyone to see his big toe.

Riku sighed, shoulders slumping slightly. "Why do we hang out with them?" He asked, a small smirk worming its way on his lips as he faced the girls before walking the last few steps over to the bouncer. He grabbed the netting on the side of the flap and ducked inside, feeling much to old and much too tall to even step foot in there.

The girls began to giggle even harder at his comment and at the fact that Riku looked like giant inside the bouncer compared to their other, shorter friends.

"They make things more interesting," Kairi said softly, so only Selphie was able to hear, as they both hurried to one of the sides of the bouncer for a better look.

"Yep, without them this island would be extremely boring," Selphie said with a smile.

"So, we ready then? Rules are, no rules," Tidus smiled.

Riku peered out through the netting, "Birthday girl, want to give the mark?"

"Of course I do!" Selphie yelled. "On your mark! Set! GO!"

Tidus surprisingly was the first to move. With a laugh, he launched himself at Sora.

Sora, with all of his experience fighting the Heartless, was ready for him. He quickly dodged him and then latched himself onto Tidus' back.

Tidus quickly lost his balance, and felt himself falling face-first into the plastic floor. He shifted his weight at the last second so he landed on his side, pinning Sora's left arm under him.

At the same time, Wakka had found himself facing off with Riku. The younger boy looked almost hesitant at first, but then quickly bounced over at the silveret. Riku smirked and dodged completely, letting Wakka's momentum carry him into one of the four pillars in the corners. Riku then looked over at Sora and Tidus on the floor. He shifted his weight and jumped, hoping to send the two high enough into the air where Sora's arm would come free.

Sora noticed what Riku was doing, and just as he jumped, sending them both high, he was able to free his arm from Tidus' grasp and push the boy off of him with both his arms and legs.

His attention on Sora and Tidus, Riku turned when the floor sunk and he turned just in time to meet Wakka head on and both the older boys went sprawling near the other two.

Sora and Tidus were too busy trying to overpower the other. Neither of them were able to notice in time that Wakka and Riku where heading their way.

Riku managed to miss the two boys on the ground by inches, but Wakka did not have the skill to completely evade and tripped over Tidus only to land on Sora. Riku snorted, trying to hold back a laugh at how ridiculous they looked, both bouncing in the air slightly with the impact.

"Wakka, ger'roff!" Sora yelled but was muffled by Wakka's body. If anyone could see his face, they could see that he was blushing red.

Riku laughed hearing the smothered voice and at Wakka's struggle to regain his footing. But he soon was knocked to the ground too by a newly recovered Tidus.

"Hah! Let your guard down!" Tidus shouted out, as he and Riku landed against the corner pillar. The bounce house suddenly tipped slightly, but luckily regained its proper place.

"Hey, you four, don't pop the bouncer! Me and Kairi havn't even gone in yet!" came Selphie's yell.

Sora was finally able to get Wakka's heavy body off of him. He quickly tried to get his footing and glanced at Riku and Tidus.

"Yeah, Tidus, don't be an idiot!" Riku smirked, ramming his body into the other boy, who landed with a competitive grin still playing on his lips.

"Just give up and I won't have to be!" Tidus was now close enough to where he thought he could gain the upper hand on Sora, and he swung his leg out in an attempt to trip him.

Sora caught Tidus' kick and jumped high avoiding the kick from tripping him. "I don't think us giving up would stop you from being an idiot, but admitting that you are is the first step to recovery, you know?"

"He's got you there, Tidus!" yelled Selphie. Her and Kairi were consumed with fits of giggles.

Tidus sputtered momentarily. "That's not what I meant and you know it!" He charged again at Sora, this time trying to confuse him by rolling to the floor instead and aiming for his legs.

Wakka once again was facing off with Riku, who smirked and the two were on the floor employing various wrestling moves within seconds.

Wakka was not fairing to well, until in a moment of luck, his hand caught Riku's long hair. "Ow, the hell, Wakka, that's my hair!"

"Maybe you should get it cut then, ya? Doesn't come in handy." Wakka tried to get the older boy into a choke-hold, one he used various other times on both Tidus and Sora.

"Wakka that's not very fair!" cried Kairi giving Wakka her best glare.

Sora, who was trying to avoid Tidus attempts at tripping him, saw Wakka trying to lock Riku in a choke-hold. That was usually the hardest thing to get out of. Sora might have been mad at Riku for abandoning him in the mall but he was still his teammate. And that meant if he lost, they both lost. Sora was not going to admit defeat to his two boneheaded friends, ever. He threw himself to Wakka's feet trying to cause the other boy to lose his balance and giving Riku the chance to get away.

But Wakka did not relinquish his hold that easily, and he merely stumbled a few steps taking both Sora and Riku with him. Tidus saw his oppurtunity and struck. The blond set off like a rocket at the three of them.

"Tidus, no, you idiot!" Riku managed to say before all four went tumbling into one side of the bouncer. The whole thing gave a low groan, topped to the floor on its side, and then a loud hissing began.

And as soon as the hissing began Selphie's angry voice filled the night sky, "WHAT DID YOU FOUR DO?"

Sora let out a groan as he tried to pull away from the many bodies on top of him but failed miserably.

The plastic of the bouncer began to slowly cover all of them and it grew almost pitch. "Brilliant, Tidus. Brilliant." Riku coughed a bit, unable to tell where his feet ended and where someone else began.

"It wasn't my fault!" Tidus' voice rang out a little to his right.

"Whoever's on top of me can you please move? You're cutting my air supply!" yelled Sora as he tried to move but found it near impossible.

Kairi sighed but gave Selphie a small smile, "Come on, lets help them out before they suffocate in there."

"Fine, but they better pay for the bounce house on my next birthday then!" Selphie said with a pout as she and Kairi hurried to help them.

"I'll buy you a damn pony if you get whosever foot this is out of my face," Riku growled out. He was faintly aware he was on top on someone as well, but with someone's legs sprawled out over his lower back he couldn't move himself.

Sora, still unable to move thanks to all the weight on top him, was getting annoyed and desperate. He wasn't kidding about the lack of oxygen. He then felt a tickle on his nose as the head on his chest started to move and the person's long hair swept below his nose. And the urge to sneeze grew. He tried desperately to stop himself but couldn't.

"Alright...whoever did that is dead when I can see," Riku growled again.

"It's not my fault! If you stop moving, your hair would stop tickling my nose!" yelled Sora, defending himself. Then it hit him, "Riku, get the heck off me!"

"Quit moving! I would if I could Sora!" Riku called back. He tried to lift himself up on his arms to give his friend more space. He felt the body roll off his back but was shocked when they took with them a large amount of the flattened bouncer with them. The plastic pulled over Riku, and he was pinned again over Sora.

Sora felt his face become hot at the thought of Riku was lying right on top of him. Sora was not the type of person that liked the touchy-feeling stuff, it was odd, "Oh, for the love of…! Can someone please get us out of here?"

Kairi and Selphie were quick to get Tidus and Wakka out of what was left of the bounce house. That meant they only had to find Sora and Riku. Tidus and Wakka helped the girls as they tried to get the plastic off the pair but as soon as they removed it, no one was able to stop the laughter as they stared at the sight in front of them. Unfortunately for Sora and Riku, since it was Selphie's party, she had a camera at the ready and was taking pictures of their awkward position.

"This is going on my web page! Thanks, you two, for making my party the best one ever!" yelled Selphie as she ran to her house to post it up as soon as possible, neither boy would be able to stop her.

Riku rolled over, laying next to Sora and wearing a deep scowl. "I hate my life."

"Eh, could be a lot worse," Sora mumbled as he struggle to sit up.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you two! I'm on the yearbook this year and I'm going to put this in there too!" came Selphie's voice from inside the house.

"Oh, really?" Riku glared at Sora. "How so?"

Sora's blush deepened, "Well...um...we could have...you know what, I'll get back to you on that."

After a short time Selphie came out of her house with a wooden stick in her hand, "Alright, time to break the piñata! Who wants to go first?"

"Oh, I am so on that!" Tidus practically skipped over to Selphie's side, trying to get a hand on the stick. "We can leave the lovebirds out here while I get us some candy!"

"Love birds? We are not love birds!" grumbled Sora as he crossed his arms in front of him giving them a scowl as he did so. Then he remembered that they were talking about candy, "Hey! I want some candy too!"

Riku was up on his feet already, walking with a scowl over to where the others were gathering. "I wouldn't give me that stick. Because when I get a hold of it, a certain blond better hope he can hide well."

"Huh? What?" Tidus looked at him warily. "Geez, man, don't be so uptight. It was a joke..." he laughed to try and cover his nervousness. "You're not serious are you, Riku?"

"We'll find out, won't we? Better hope you get that thing open before it's my turn," Riku's lips twisted up into a smirk. Tidus found himself swallowing hard, and he turned away from the other, shoulders slumped.

"So, can I go first, Selphie?" Sora asked looking at the brunette with his famous puppy-eyed face.

Selphie looked at him and then at Riku and then gave him a smile, "Only if you promise you're not going to go hunting for Tidus."

"Why would I hunt Tidus? He doesn't taste good," Sora said as he got up and hurried to grab the stick from Selphie's hand

"What kind of comment is that, you freak? I don't taste good...who's to say? I probably taste amazing!" Tidus made a fist, tapping his chest and then pushing out his shoulders.

Sora rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure you do."

"Alright, you two, knock it off," Kairi said trying to get in between them.

"Yeah, besides, I'm sure you do taste very good Tidus," Selphie said giving him a strange smile.

"I know what'll taste even better. Some of that candy. Can we drop the subject?" Wakka laughed, scratching the back of his head and looking to the side. "It's weirding me out, ya?"

"Oh, alright," Selphie said looking disappointed as if Wakka telling them to stop had just ruined her party. "Sora, go and hit the piñata."

"Alright! Sorry Riku, but it's going to break on my turn," Sora said cockily, hurrying to the tree and the paopu piñata.

"Don't forget this," Riku smirked, throwing the blindfold at his head. "I'd suggest that everyone step back."

"What? You think I'll hit someone?" Sora said, looking offended now.

"No, I think you'll hit everyone." Riku shot right back, the smirk firmly resting on his face.

"Just for that, I'm aiming for you," Sora said, glaring at Riku.

Looking between the two, Tidus sighed. "Can we just start hitting something, please? I need some sugar."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," grumbled Sora, tightening the blindfold around his eyes.

Riku just laughed slightly, leaning against the wall. He watched as Sora took up the stick, something far different than any Keyblade.

Sora swung the stick as hard as he could, forgetting the stick was not a Keyblade. Before he was able to swing again, he heard a crack.

He removed the blindfold to find that he had the tree instead of the piñata, causing the stick to break in two

"Aw man..." Tidus whined.

"Nice one, Sora," Riku's smirk had yet to leave.

"Shut up," Sora replied with a scowl. He looked around and found that Kairi and Selphie were both laughing hard. "Selphie, do you have tape?"

Selphie tried to regain her composure, but was failing miserably and shook her head.

Tidus finally saw the humor in the situation, and was quite relieved that there was no stick for Riku to beat him with. His hand shot up to try and hold in his laugh, but he snorted as it finally escaped. Beside him Wakka had joined in with the girls as well.

"Does anyone else have another stick?" Sora asked as he scowled at Riku.

Giving up on holding it back, Riku let out a small, but true laugh, gazing back at Sora's face. "You should see how red you are," he managed to get out. It had been far too long, far, far too long since Riku remembered laughing like this.

Finally Sora couldn't hold his scowl anymore and started to laugh with everyone else and he was able to say between laughs, "I think we should just crack the piñata and take the candy."

"I second that," Tidus sighed, finally managing to quell his laughs for the time being. He ran a finger across his eyes to remove the wetness.

"Alright, but can we play spin the bottle after?" Selphie said once she was finally able to stop laughing.

Riku coughed, choking on a left-over laugh, "...What?"

"Spin the bottle! Come on, I've never played and now that I have all you of you here, let's play! Please? Come on, it's my birthday!" Selphie cried, giving Riku a begging look.

"You do realize there are only two girls here..." Riku asked warily, looking over at Sora and the others then back to Selphie's face. Birthday or not, this was not going to end well. He sighed.

"Yes, I know, but come on, the chance of you spinning and pointing to one of guys are slim! Please?" She was starting to whine now.

After another sigh, Riku finally gave in, "It's your party..."

"Yay! Come on, Kairi let's go get a bottle!" yelled Selphie as she hurried inside.

Kairi stayed behind to give them an awkward smile, "I'm going to try and take the camera away from her before we start, okay?"

Tidus gave a nervous laugh and glanced between the four of them. "Uh, yeah...that'd be good."

As soon as Tidus had answered, she hurried inside the house to find Selphie.

"Alright, so...what's spin the bottle?" Sora asked looking over at Riku with a confused look.

**

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**

"Tidus, you know, you do taste good," Selphie said as she pulled away from the kiss.

They were all currently sitting in a circle, surrounding a glass bottle that Kairi and Selphie had found in the kitchen. Selphie had wanted to go first since she was the birthday girl and as if fate was playing a trick on Tidus, it had landed on him.

Tidus sputtered a bit, sitting back in his spot. He blushed, but didn't say anything. Finally as if an afterthought, he ran the back of his hand over his lips and gave Selphie a dirty scowl.

Selphie just giggled at the blond boy in front of her.

"Alright, who wants to go next?" Selphie yelled happily but instead of waiting for someone to answer, she gave Kairi a little push signifying that it was her turn.

Kairi gave her small glare and then blushed, staring at the boys and then at the bottle. She swallowedd and spun the bottle, hoping that it would land on the one boy she wanted to steal a kiss from.

All four boys eyed the bottle warily as it spun. Tidus had pulled his knees up, face complete with scowl, resting on them. Every now and again, he shot a glare Selphie's way, but she never seemed to notice. Wakka was slightly tinged in red, and he kept nervously glancing at Sora and Riku, praying it landed on one of them. Everyone knew how protective they were of Kairi.

Seeming as if hours had passed, the bottled finally slowed to a complete stop and landed on the orange-haired boy.

Wakka gulped, turning a few shades redder. He looked over at Riku first, who was just eying him with the same look he had worn the entire game. He glanced over at Sora, almost as if asking for permission, and then finally his gaze turned back to the red-headed girl.

Kairi brushed her lips to a fine line and then glanced at Sora, who was looking between her and Wakka with a look she could not recognize. She sighed and thought she might as well get it over with, crawling over to Wakka.

Wakka closed his eyes as she neared, and couldn't help it when his blush darkened again.

When she was finally near enough to Wakka, she closed her eyes and got her puckered her lips. Her first kiss, she thought, wasn't going to be from the guy she had hoped.

Tidus seemed to have snapped out of his pouting. And with a grin on his lips he pushed against Wakka's head, causing the older boy to close the distance between him and Kairi. Wakka's eyes opened wide, and Tidus only laughed.

Wakka's lips met Kairi's and as they did, she opened her eyes and pushed the older boy away from her as she quickly hurried to the other side of the circle, wiping her lips a little.

Sora stared at Kairi for a moment and then gave both Wakka and Tidus a glare.

Tidus stuck his tongue out at Sora. Poor Wakka looked like he had a bad case of sunburn, "Kairi gets to pick now, ya." He tried to remove everyone's attention away from himself. He didn't even dare to look up at Riku.

"Um, okay, Sora you go next," Kairi said not looking up either of the boys and blushing softly.

Sora was to busy glaring at Tidus and Wakka to notice that Kairi had picked him to go next.

Riku, who was sitting next to Sora, reached over and smacked him lightly on the back of his head, "Your turn, Sora."

"Oh, what?" Sora turned away and looked around, not understanding what was going on.

"It's your turn to spin the bottle," Selphie cried happily as she gestured to the bottle on the floor.

"Oh, okay," Sora said looking at the bottle almost as if it was his worst nightmare. He shakily lifted his arm and spun the bottle hoping that something would happen, allowing him to skip his turn.

Tidus was busy whispering something into Wakka's ear as he kept throwing Sora a look. The two grinned, but didn't say anything.

Riku had been done with this game the moment it was suggested. He continued to watch the bottle spin lazily, every now and again looking over at Selphie's wide, excited eyes with a sigh.

Sora gulped hard, staring at the still bottle. Selphie started giggling and even Kairi, who had finally recovered from her embarrassment, had a smile on her face as she stared.

It finally seemed to dawn on Riku that the bottle was pointed directly at him, and he snapped out of his lazy stupor. He looked over at Selphie first then Sora, "Oh, hell no." His gaze shot sharply over to Tidus and Wakka who were now laughing.

"Oh, man," Sora mumbled as his face turned tomato-red.

"Come on, you two! We all did our kiss, it's your turn now!" Selphie said as she smiled wickedly at the two.

"There's no way," Riku growled out, and made a move to get up. But he was stopped short by Selphie.

"Riku! It's my birthday and you agreed to play this game even though you knew what could have happened. Now are you implying that Sora is not cute enough for you to kiss?" Selphie asked with her hands on her waist.

"Don't twist my words, Selphie," Riku countered, a bit hesitant however. And for some reason he felt his face growing slightly hot.

"Well then, what's the problem? If you think Sora is cute then what wrong with giving him a friendly kiss?" Selphie replied giving Riku a small glare. While Sora sat not daring to look at anyone, his face becoming even redder as they spoke

"Hah, come on Sora, finish your turn!" Tidus laughed, reaching over and shaking the brunet's shoulders.

While Riku sputtered out an angry, "Who said I said he was cute?" Tidus continued to laugh along with Wakka, both watching Sora.

If it was even possible Sora turn even redder at Riku's comment.

"Well, you didn't say that he wasn't, so that only leaves that you think he's cute," Selphie said looking up at him with an innocent smile

"Shut up, Selphie," Riku gave a warning. He finally turned his eyes over to Sora who was staring at the floor.

Sora kept his eyes trained on the floor, afraid to even look at anyone else. He could hear giggles and laughter but did not turn to see Riku's reaction.

With a sigh Riku reached over and put a hand on Sora's shoulder. He gave everyone one last glare before turning his full attention back on his best friend who looked ready to pass out. "Hey, Sora? You still with us?"

Sora almost jumped out of his skin when he felt Riku's hand on his shoulder. He fearfully looked at the older boy and saw that everyone eyes were on him. He really, really wanted to run away from the house, forgetting this night completely.

"Oh, come on, you two are taking forever, kiss each other already!" yelled Selphie, getting very impatient.

"Don't push them, Selphie," Kairi mumbled trying not to show just how much she found this amusing for both boys'sake.

Trying to ignore the others, Riku suppressed a growl and closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them again he kept both trained on Sora's face, "Let's just shut them up, yeah?"

"O-okay," mumbled Sora so softly that only Riku was able to hear. He closed his eyes and leaned over toward Riku.

Riku chose to ignore the cat call Tidus gave. Instead he began to lean too, slowly closing the distance between them. When Riku was close enough to feel the heat of Sora's blush, he laid a quick kiss to the other's cheek. He pulled away and turned to look at his friends. The smirk came back when he took in Selphie's face.

"What! That wasn't a kiss!" cried Selphie sounding outraged.

"I'm afraid you failed to set the rules," Riku's smirk only grew. "You just said we had to kiss, you didn't say where."

Sora lifted his hand slowly and touched the place where Riku had kissed him. He smiled at his friend's intellect. "He's got a point. You never said it couldn't be a peck on the cheek, Selphie."

"This is unfair!" yelled Selphie, crossing her arms in front of her and giving them a pout.

Kairi laughed but smiled at the two boys, "They're right, Selphie."

"You are such a cheat, Riku!" Tidus whined, pounding his fist lightly against the floor beside him. "I don't even want to play with you anymore!"

"Don't complain just because you weren't smart enough to do the same, Tidus," Riku leaned back on his hands. "I was following the rules." Tidus turned away from him with a grunt of disapproval.

Sora looked at Riku and finally let out a laugh; it was more a laugh of a relief but it was a laugh.

"Fine, we won't play anymore. Let's just cut the cake and get to the presents!" cried Selphie happily as she got up and hurried to the kitchen to get the cake.

"She sure switches mindsets easy enough," Riku sighed, leaning a bit further back. He turned to grin at Sora. "Either that or she's just pissed at me."

"Nah, I think it's near impossible to get her too angry," Sora said with a weak smile.

"Don't worry, Riku, I'm sure she'll forget once she opens her presents," Kairi said as she got up and tried to flatten her dress. "I'm going to go and help her, so you four don't do anything while I'm gone. I don't think Selphie's parents would be too happy if you break something in here."

"Come on, Kairi, who us?" Riku shot back, finally allowing himself to fall back against the carpet completely.

"Yes, I'm talking about you four. The ones who popped the bounce house," Kairi said, rolling her eyes.

"Correction, Tidus popped the bounce house," Riku pointed out.

"Uh, you were in there too Riku!" Tidus shot him a glare

"Yeah, yeah, just don't fight again or else," she threatened while smiling innocently as she walked over to the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I have no interest in fighting with cheaters," Tidus huffed, turning slightly so he didn't have to look at Sora or Riku.

"It's getting old, Tidus," Riku said, still lying back on the floor.

"We didn't cheat, besides if you wanted to see two guys kissing so much, how about you and Wakka do it then, Tidus?" Sora said rolling his eyes and leaning on his hands.

"What? You're crazy!" Tidus gave him a disgusted look.

Wakka gave him an odd look as well. "Don't even joke 'bout stuff like that, man."

"Why? It's not that bad," Sora said giving them a confused look. "Besides, it would probably make Selphie extremely happy."

"If it's not so bad, why didn't you do it?" Tidus crossed his arms. "Had to have Riku help you cheat!"

Riku reached back for the pillows on the couch, and he tossed it at Tidus' head.

As he did Selphie and Kairi walked into the living room. Kairi was holding the cake while Selphie carried the camera.

"Are you four still arguing?" Kairi asked as she stared at the angry looking boys around them.

"No," Tidus replied, giving Sora another look before turning his attention on the girls. "Hey...is that a cake?"

"Yep, but I'm not going to give you any if your still fighting, so make up or no cake," Selphie said giving them a pout.

"I said we weren't!" Tidus stood up. "Come on, Selphie! No fair!"

"I don't believe you! Or else you wouldn't sound all mad," Selphie said as she folded her arms in front of her.

"Tidus is just upset because he can't win," Riku smirked, sitting back up he looked over at Sora for a moment before back up at Kairi and Selphie. "He's the only one who's angry."

"Yep, we're not mad! So, can we please get some cake?" Sora asked quickly standing up and hurrying to Kairi who was holding the delicious threat.

"Yeah, fine..."Tidus gave in. "We're not mad."

"Now get Sora some sugar before he breaks something," Riku laughed, watching as the boy hovered over Kairi and the plate she held.

Kairi laughed, "Alright, but we better not hear from your mom about how hyperactive you were tonight." She placed the plate on the coffee table and started to cut the cake into pieces, placing them onto plates.

"What are you both talking about? Cake doesn't make me hyperactive," Sora said as he took a piece of cake and gave both his best friends a puzzled look.

"And the beach doesn't have sand," Riku stood, grinning and moved over to the table, taking a seat.

Sora glared at Riku, "I don't get sugar highs, Riku."

Riku shook his head a bit and laughed as the other two boys took their seats too. "We'll see."

"Hm," Sora said turning his head away from Riku and taking a bite from his piece of cake. Then a thought crossed his mind and a small smirk formed on his lips. He noticed that Riku was holding his cake. He silently and swiftly pushed Riku's plate into his face. "Yes, we will."

Riku brought his cake-covered face up, shocked. Tidus and Wakka, earlier argument forgotten broke into hysterical laughter. Tidus reached out his hand toward Sora for a high-five, "Great, man, great."

Selphie was laughing so hard that she was close to crying. Kairi was stuck between shock and amusement and she couldn't find anything to say.

Riku turned his eyes over to Sora, who was still close enough for Riku to reach. He wiped a hand over his face, clearing most of the cake off before using that hand and grabbing Sora around the shoulders, running the frosting through his spikes.

Sora was laughing and not paying much attention to Riku so he was quite surprised at the action. He could only imagine what his mother would say when he got home.

"That wasn't very nice!" yelled Sora pulling away from Riku's grasp and trying to rub off the frosting from his hair but only making it worse

"Heh," Riku smirked. "No, it wasn't. And neither was this." He ended by pushing up Sora's plate into his chest. He turned th plate back and forth a bit, before pulling away.

Sora cried angrily as Riku ruined his desert. He glared at Riku and then calmly got up from his seat and walked over to the coffee table, grabbing a spear plate that Kairi had left incase anyone else wanted seconds. He flung it at Riku, hitting him in the chest.

Sora smirked, "Well, two can play at this game."

"Sora! This was a new shirt!" Riku growled out. The silveret reached over and grabbed Tidus' plate.

"Wha-hey!" the blond cried out, eyes following as his piece flew toward Sora.

Sora ducked and it hit Kairi who was standing next to him. Kairi did not take having cake on her dress very well. "Riku! This was a new dress! My parents paid a lot munny for this!" She took her cake and threw it at Riku's face.

Riku slid his chair back, the cake sailing away from him. The plate crashed right into Selphie, who happened to be sitting in its path.

The cake had pegged her right on her face. She stood up from her seat and gave the apologetic Kairi a look that everyone knew meant "your dead", flinging her cake at Kairi who quickly moved out of the way from its path which caught the unsuspecting Wakka by surprise.

Wakka had been on his way out, trying to escape with his piece of cake. But when he was hit, he turned and flung his own plate in anger back at Selphie.

Selphie's eyes widened as she saw the cake coming her way and quickly moved away before it collided with her face. Unfortunately, Tidus was now in its path.

Tidus, sliding out of his chair with a laugh, ducked under the table. The cake hit the wall, slowly dripping to the ground as it left a frosting trail in its wake.

Tidus poked his head over the table, eying his frosting covered friends. He snorted, unable to not laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. "Presents, anyone?"

Kairi and Selphie smiled up at Tidus and at the presents and then they both walked over to Tidus with their hands covered in frosting. One of them rubbed their hands right into Tidus' blond hair while the other lifted his shirt and rubbed their hand into his bear back.

"Yes, why don't we start opening the presents now," Selphie said with excitement as she hurried to table filled with presents her friends had brought her.

Riku looked over at a frozen Tidus, he wiped a hand over the other's face for good measure, smearing the frosting, and headed over to where the presents were. As an afterthought he grabbed a few napkins on his way.

Sora just stared at Tidus with a grin but decided not to rub anymore frosting on him, and followed Riku to the presents.

Wakka laughed a bit, tossing some napkins Tidus' way. "Clean yourself up, ya?"

Tidus stared numbly down at the napkins for a moment. A scowl wormed its way over his face and he reached out for them, cringing at the feeling of cake on his back. Getting what he could off, he stomped over to the others.

Selphie picked up a small black bag and stared at the label and smiled happily, "Oh, what did you get me Wakka?"

"Uh, well," he scratched the back of his head. "You'll have to open it to find out. I looked everywhere for it, ya? Hope it's the right one."

Selphie opened it and, to everyone's agonizing pain, she let out a high-pitched screech. "Oh, my god! I can't believe you got it! I've been looking everywhere for it!" She held the CD tightly.

"Geez, Selphie...tone it," Riku rubbed his right ear.

"Hope you like it, ya?" Wakka replied, blushing slightly.

"Like it? I love it! Come on it's the Fanboys! I love them!" yelled Selphie as she trapped Wakka into a wickedly strong hug.

"Y-You're welcome, Selphie," Wakka choked through the hug.

Selphie let go of Wakka after a while and opened her next present. "Let's see, here… oh, this one is from Tidus!" she said happily and smiled widely at Tidus, opening it.

Her eyes widened as she saw the stunning star-shaped pendent and chain for her to wear. "Oh, Tidus! It's beautiful! Thank you, so much!" She practically threw herself onto the blond boy.

Tidus fell over with her weight, "Okay, okay! You're welcome! Now get off, I can't breathe!"

"Oh, but this just so wonderful!" Selphie yelled not letting Tidus go.

Tidus unlocked her arms from his neck, "Off!"

"Alright, alright, I'll open a different present now," she said, smoothing her dress with a small look of disappointment. A small gift bag was next, "Oh! This one is from Kairi!"

"I hope you like it! I couldn't decide what color you would like the most," Kairi said with a proud smile.

Selphie opened her gift to find two blouses, one in yellow, the other in orange. "Wow! Kairi, I love the colors! Thank you so much." She hugged Kairi but unlike the other boys she didn't hold her for too long. She quickly moved on to the next gift. It was in a large gift bag.

"Oh, this one is from Sora!" Selphie said happily as she glanced at Sora who was smiling proudly.

"I hope you love it! I didn't have any help with choosing it either since someone abandoned me in the mall!" Sora said throwing Riku a glare.

Riku just shot him a look in return, "Because you need a chaperone."

"I didn't need a chaperone! I asked you to come with me so you could help me, not leave me there!" Sora retorted back, his anger returning almost as quickly as it had gone.

"I helped. I gave you the perfect idea," Riku held his hands up with a smirk. "Besides, you found something without me, see?"

Sora just continued to glare at him but moved his gaze at Selphie who had started to open his gift. She pulled it out and everyone in the room stared at an ugly and fluffy purse that was bright yellow with orange stitching. The purse resembled someone's vomit. However, Selphie still flung herself onto Sora's arms and hugged him. "Thank you, Sora! It's...it's a great purse!"

"You're welcome, Selphie!" Sora said as he hugged her back and stuck out his tongue toward Riku.

Riku raised his eyebrows at Sora, wondering how he couldn't pick up on Selphie's changing mood. He sighed, shaking his head.

Kairi smiled at Selphie who continued to hug Sora a moment longer. She remembered the last gift Sora had given her, which was one dreadful looking shirt which someone had put in the middle of the yard when her father was cutting the grass. Sora had looked disappointed when she had told him what had happened to her new _favorite_ shirt but told her he would get her another one for Christmas. She felt bad for lying to him, it wasn't as if he didn't try to get a good gift, it was just he was really bad at it.

"Alright! Last but not least is Riku's gift!" Selphie said happily as she took the envelope that lay by itself on the table and opened it. "Oh, Riku! Thank you! How much munny is in it? Can I shop anywhere with it?"

"Anywhere, you want," Riku grinned slightly.

"Oh, thank you!!" she ran and hugged him tightly.

He looped one arm around her in return, "You're welcome, Selphie. Buy yourself something nice." Over her shoulder Riku threw a smug grin at Sora.

Sora crossed his arms in front of him and glared at the older boy.

"Alright, well sorry, Selphie, but I need to go home," Kairi said as she glanced at her watch. "I had promised my parents I wouldn't stay too late, since tomorrow we're going to head out of town to visit my aunt and uncle for their anniversary."

"I got to go too," Sora said now looking a little panicky. "I promised mom I would be home like half an hour ago! Oh geez, she is not going to be very happy!"

Riku stood up glancing at Sora's hurried form. "Yeah, well, I better chaperone him. It's late and dark, hate to have him get lost," he nodded over to Selphie. "Happy birthday."

"Alright! Thank you all for coming and for the presents!" Selphie said happily and was able to hear Sora's 'your welcome' call as he ran out the door and toward the path of his home.

Kairi laughed at Sora but waved at Selphie goodbye and hurried home herself.

**

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**

A few days after Selphie's party found Riku seated atop the paopu tree. The air was slightly cooler than it had been since he and Sora had returned, and far more comfortable.

He had started to come out here almost immediately after their return. He'd sit, watch the sun and the waves, and listen to the ocean. Nobody had bothered him either. It was quiet.

Sora had been in the secret cave looking through the many drawings done by him and his friends. His heart filling with joy as he recalled all of the memories each drawing held. When he had left the cave, he saw his platinum-haired friend sitting on the paopu tree. He hurried over to his side. His feet pounded on the wooden bridge as he crossed toward the small island the bridge was connected to.

He jumped over the paupu tree and leaned against its bark, staring out at the horizon in silence.

Riku was surprised Sora had finally decided to join him, but he didn't turn his head from the sea. He cocked his head, eyes narrowing only slightly, "Nothing's changed, huh?"

"Nope" Sora said with a warm smile dancing around his lips. "Nothing will."

Riku leaned back slightly, eyes shifting down from the horizon to the waves hitting the beach, "What a small world." "But part of one that's much bigger," Sora said softly as he watched the sun slowly sink down the horizon

The silveret turned his gaze up again, "Yeah."

"Hey Riku, what do you think it was, the door to the light?" Sora asked turning to face his best friend with a curious look. He had always wondered about that and how they had gotten home.

Riku smirked lightly, closing his eyes momentarily and sliding off the tree. He turned to Sora, his hand rising up and tapping the younger boy's chest lightly. "This."

The movement confused Sora and he lifted his hand slowly to his chest, staring at the spot Riku had touched and then back the older boy, "This?"

Riku pulled back a bit, smiling slightly, "Yeah, it's always closer than you think."

Sora smiled warmly at Riku but before he was able to say anything, they both heard footsteps coming from the wooden bridge and then the familiar voice of their best friend.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi yelled as she hurried toward the two of them.

Sora turned away from Riku to look at Kairi who had finally reached them, now hunched over trying to catch her breath. "Hey, what's up?" Sora asked.

She looked up at Sora and then handed him a glass bottle, "Look."

Sora stared at the bottle and saw a rolled up note and a familiar crest, "From the King?"

Riku leaned over a bit, watching Sora unroll the letter at start to read. He couldn't read any of the script from his position, so watched for Sora's reaction.

A sudden wave of uneasiness settled within Sora as he read the short letter over and over. The words looked as if they were written in a hurry and with regret. Sora sighed and wordlessly passed the letter to Riku.

Riku caught the strange look that moved over Sora's face. He drew his eyebrows together in worry, as he took the letter in hand, reading it for himself.

"What does it say, guys?" Kairi asked as she looked between both boys with a worried look.

Riku looked at her and sighed quietly, "The King asked us to meet him at Yin Cid's tower..."

Sora stared at Riku with a sad smile, "I guess its time to go back to work, huh Riku?"

"We don't know that yet, Sora," Riku gazed at him, not liking the forced look on his friend's face.

Sora looked at the sky, "Should head home." He turned slightly away from his friends. "I should probably pack too, they're probably going to come and pick us up tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah," Riku replied, glancing away at the sea for a moment before back at the letter. His voice grew quiet, almost to the point where no one could hear it, "I guess."

"Well, then I should head home to and pack too!" Kairi said as she smiled at the both of them.

"Kairi," Riku said as she was turning away, "I don't think you should come with us."

"W-what? Why not?" Kairi stopped in her tracks and gave Riku a small scowl.

"We don't know why he wants to see us, Kairi. For all we know, it could be dangerous. It's better if you stay here," Sora said softly with an unusual seriousness on his face.

"Sora's right, Kairi," Riku told her, his calm gaze evening with her eyes. "Besides, we're more likely to hurry back if we know you're waiting, right Sora?"

Riku's comment caused Sora to lose his seriousness and he blushed deeply, "Ah...yeah...we'll hurry back..."

Kairi stared at them for a long moment but she knew they weren't going to change their minds about this. She gave them a small smile, "Alright, but please be careful, I don't want to lose you two again for such a long time." She threw her arms around both them and hugged them almost as if she didn't want to ever let them go.

Riku found himself sighing again, "We'll be alright, Kairi."

"You'll both promise to write, right?" Kairi asked, trying to hide her tears.

"Of course," Sora said with a weak smile as he hugged her.

Riku pulled away from them, clearly his throat, "Let's hope we won't be gone long enough for that stuff to matter. Let's head back," he gestured lightly to the docks.

"Yeah, maybe Riku's right. Maybe he just wants to talk to us," Sora said with a forced smile. He knew that they weren't going for a social conversation but he really hoped it was. "We'll be back before you know it."

Riku took one last look over at the waves then at his friends. With a small grunt, agreeing with Sora, he turned and began the trek back down to the boats.

"I wonder how I'm going to explain this to my mom," Sora mumbled as he climbed into his canoe. "Oh well, I'll think of something. How does leaving letter sound?"

"You and letters," Riku smirked, hopping in his own boat.

Sora laughed softly, "Well, it's better than nothing."

TC…

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**Author Notes:** _We would love it if all you would leave us a review telling us what you think and if we should continue this._

**Fox-chan:** _Riku, Wakka, and Tidus_

**Phoenix-chan:** _Sora, Kairi, and Selphie_


End file.
